Flood
by LunaClefairy
Summary: Traitor. That's the title Quaxa has accepted. The Organization has her on the run, and her Nobody status automatically makes her Sora's enemy. Yet she fights, clinging to old memories and promises, and hoping to help save the worlds―even if she can't save herself. Sequel to Drops of Water.
1. Chapter 1

It was morning in the sleepy little world of Twilight Town. One wouldn't be able to tell from the position of the sun due to its perpetual placement just above the horizon, but the hands of the town's famous clock tower marked the time.

The town itself reflected its sunset, with all of the buildings being painted shades of orange, yellow, and brown, though an occasional splash of dull green could be seen here and there. Bright greens and blues were reserved exclusively for signs and advertisements, as they easily caught the eye of people used to warm, earthy colors.

On this backdrop, one person stuck out; a black stain on the orange canvas. Clothed in a black leather coat that billowed about her when the wind blew, she sat precariously on a ledge near the top of the clock tower. Her long, slender legs dangled off the edge of the building; her right arm rested on her lap while her left arm remained at her side, and she could feel the coolness of the cement despite her coat and gloves. Her aqua blue eyes stared off into the distance, and her ocean blue hair tickled her face as it rustled in the breeze.

_This place holds so many memories for us. We're closely connected with it. So it's only natural DiZ would create a virtual copy of it for Roxas to live in._

The young woman bit her lip at the thought of her dear friend. _Roxas… Right now, he thinks he's a normal teenager living in Twilight Town. All of his memories of the Organization had to be removed, including those of Axel and I. And depending on how fast Naminé works, he has maybe a week left to live as himself._

The blue-haired woman, named Quaxa, felt her chest throb painfully. She shut her eyes tightly and grimaced. _Why? Why does it have to be this way? Without Roxas, Sora will never awaken from his slumber―and I owe Sora my life. Not only that, the fraction of Ven's heart that Roxas holds has to be returned, and Sora holds the remaining part. But…I can't bear the fact that Roxas has to disappear as a result. Neither Sora nor Ven would want someone else to give up their life for them. But is there any other choice…?_

Quaxa jolted as the clock tower's bells rang, marking the top of the hour. She waited and counted the bongs until they stopped.

"Nine o'clock… I wonder if Roxas is awake…" she murmured. She swung her legs onto the ledge she sat on and stood up, her coat rustling as she did so. She then held out her hand and summoned a corridor of darkness in order to travel quickly and without being seen.

* * *

In another part of Twilight Town, tucked behind a steel fence with a doorway, was a tiny room-like area. The train tracks ran right over it, so the sound of trains passing by was loud and clear. Four of the town's teenagers used it as their "Usual Spot", and they had furnished it to their liking. The four of them were currently gathered together in this place.

First, there was Hayner, the hot-headed leader of the little group. Always dressed in camouflage-colored shorts and a tan army-style vest, he was the type that emanated a "tough-guy" vibe. His love for Twilight Town's popular Struggle battles only furthered this image. The truth, however, was that he was actually a really nice guy once you got to know him―and a more loyal friend would be hard to find.

Next there was Pence: a laid-back and easygoing sort of fellow who took life one day at a time. Though his physique was a bit lacking (often resulting in him placing last in races to buy sea-salt ice cream), he more than made up for it with his surprisingly sharp wit. Well-informed of happenings in Twilight Town, he provided the gang with valuable information.

Third was Olette, the only female in the group. Though she was a girl, she was easily accepted as one of the guys, and could even hold her own in a Struggle match. On the other hand, she still did typical female activities, such as shopping, and frequently had her friends carry her bags. She kept the boys in line, making sure they did their homework and settling the occasional dispute. Despite her level-headed nature, she was also a natural at comic relief.

Finally, there was Roxas. Easily identified by his spiky blond hair and primarily black and white clothing, he was a bit quiet and reserved, especially when compared to his friends. Even so, if one of his pals was in trouble, he'd be there in an instant to give them assistance. Today, however, Roxas was struggling with a little problem of his own.

_Recently, all of my dreams have been about the same guy. In the dream, I become him, and I'm playing with friends I've never met. But I have no will of my own there. I only feel what he's feeling. It's an odd sensation._

"Earth to Roxas! Are you listening?"

Roxas snapped out of his thoughts at the sound of his best friend's voice. "Huh? Sorry, what?"

"DAAARRGH!" Hayner roared, irritated that his best friend had been off in la-la land while he had been talking. "We're talking about how to clear our names! Listen up, man!"

Roxas tilted his head in confusion. "Uh… Clear our names?"

"That's right!" Hayner shouted. He advanced on Roxas, ready to pound him for spacing out. Roxas held his hands up in a feeble attempt to defend against Hayner's wrath.

"Calm down, Hayner!" Olette and Pence both shouted. Their voices got the camo-clad teen to cool off, much to Roxas' relief. The two of them filled the spiky blond in on what he had missed.

"You know how stuff's been stolen around town, and it's gotten worse lately?" Olette asked.

"Seifer and his gang are goin' around tellin' everybody _we're_ the thieves!" explained Pence.

"I see…" Roxas said in understanding. "Ah! Come to think of it, when I was on my way here… When I went to get my textbooks, the bookstore was closed! A dog chased me off, and I stepped on some gum! Everywhere I looked, the shops were closing left and right… I knew there had to be some reason for all that bad luck."

"Anyway," Hayner said, slamming his right fist into his left palm. "We can't let 'em get away with this! Gaaaah! Let's beat the _tar _out of them! Get ready to rumble!"

Roxas sighed. Hayner, as usual when something involved Seifer's gang, was getting himself all worked up. The blond Struggler grabbed an old baseball bat and was poised to deliver a serious smackdown on anyone who dared approach.

"First, we gotta clear our names and set the record straight," Roxas said. "If we catch the real culprit, everyone will get off our backs."

"Ngh… I…guess?" Hayner grumbled.

"Hey, that sounds fun!" Pence exclaimed as he shot to his feet. "We'll hoist the criminal by his own petard to prove our innocence!"

_Petard…? _Roxas and Olette mentally repeated in confusion.

"Mmm…" Hayner considered the idea for a moment. "All right, let's go! Follow me, everyone!"

"Wait! I'll go get a camera!" shouted Pence.

"Good grief…" Roxas moaned. _Leave it to Hayner and Pence to get all excited over something like this…_

"Roxas," Olette called. The spiky blond turned at the sound of her voice. "Thank you." The brunette winked at him, and Roxas shot her a grateful smile.

"AAAAAAAAH!" Pence suddenly screamed, earning confused looks from Roxas and Olette. "Oh no! Someone's swiped our stuff, too!"

"What?!" cried Hayner.

"It's gone!" Pence said as he furiously dug through a large pile of photographs. "Our important ***** from last year is gone!"

Silence rang through the Usual Spot. Hayner, Olette, and Roxas all stared at Pence, bewildered that a word seemed to be missing from his sentence.

"Huh? Guys, what's with that reaction…?" Pence wondered.

"What'd you say was gone?" asked Hayner.

"I _said_…our ***** has been― Huh?" Pence cut himself off and grabbed his throat.

"You tryin' to mess with us, Pence?" Hayner growled.

"Hey! No, I'm telling you!" Pence protested. The rest of the gang gathered around him and saw what he meant.

"Ah!" exclaimed Hayner.

"It really is gone!" cried Olette.

"Our ***** is―"

"See?!" Pence shouted, interrupting Roxas. "You can't say it… You can't say the word *****!"

"That's stupid!" Hayner scoffed. He attempted to speak the word several times, but each time, it was if his larynx decided to shut off. "AAAAAH! WHAT IS THIS?! I CAN'T SAY IT! This is too weird!"

"It was stolen…" Roxas muttered. "And not just the *****, the _word_ *****! They stole it, too!"

Pence's eyes grew wide and shiny with excitement. "WOW!"

"Wait a sec, where d'you get _that_ idea?" asked Hayner. "This ain't no fairy tale…"

"This is an occult experience, isn't it?!" Pence gushed.

"Ugh, you don't have to act so happy about it…" Hayner grumbled.

"Anyway…" Roxas cut in. "Let's find the thief who stole our *****!"

* * *

Quaxa rushed through Twilight Town's woods, her head rapidly whirling left and right. Her brow was creased with concern, and her lips were set in a scowl.

"They're here… I can't believe they've found us already!" she murmured. The ghostly form of a Dusk flew out of the trees, and she quickly summoned her Keyblade, Rainfell, to dispatch it. A single swing of the weapon was enough to cut the Nobody down. Quaxa straightened up and squinted through the dim light, trying to determine if any more Nobodies were nearby. Seeing none, she dismissed her weapon.

"They're probably looking for Roxas right now," Quaxa said gravely. "I know DiZ programmed this town so Roxas can regain his ability to use the Keyblade if the Nobodies attack, but I'm still worried…"

The blue-haired Nobody pulled her hood over her head and hurried off, hoping that the Dusks had not yet found their target.

* * *

Roxas and his friends spied on the members of the Twilight Town Disciplinary Committee by peeking around a building. Three of the members were standing around in the sandlot and conversing.

There was Rai, an "all brawn and no brain" type of person. Though he was muscular and athletic and had Struggle skills that were nothing to sneeze at, he was often stumped by the simplest of problems.

Fuu, the lone female in the committee, frequently made up for Rai's lack of intelligence. Though her sentences never consisted of anything more than a word or two, she still got her point across easily. It was as if she didn't want to waste any effort on unnecessary words.

Meek little Vivi was the oddball of the committee. Not only was he a strange-looking fellow―his enormous pointed hat and blue coat concealed his face so much that only his beady yellow eyes were visible―his personality and age completely contrasted from the other members. Most of the time, he was pushed around and served more like the gang's gopher rather than an actual member.

"I wonder if Seifer and his gang would know anything about this," Hayner murmured, noting that the ringleader was suspiciously absent. "I hate to ask _them_, though."

Without warning, Roxas, Hayner, and Pence were violently shoved to the ground.

"What're you sneaking around for?"

The boys fought to recover from the unexpected cheap shot. Olette stood nearby, stunned into silence. Their attacker was none other than Seifer, the arrogant leader of the Twilight Town Disciplinary Committee―and also one of the best Strugglers in town.

"Hey guys! The thieves've been checkin' us out!" Seifer shouted to the remainder of his gang.

"What'd you say?!" Hayner shouted. Roxas had to use all of his strength to restrain his enraged best friend.

Seifer laughed as the Disciplinary Committee gathered around to back him up. "What's wrong with calling a thief a thief? Thief!"

"Burglar!" Fuu growled as she pointed accusingly at the Usual Spot gang.

"That was low, y'know!" Rai added.

"But you guys _started_ that rumor!" Hayner argued. He struggled to free himself from Roxas, eager to pummel his rival.

Seifer addressed Roxas, much to Hayner's annoyance. "That was undeniable proof that we totally owned you lamers. You can give us back the ***** now. So what did you do? Burn it? Hah, not like we need some ***** to prove that you're losers."

Roxas finally let go of Hayner, causing the latter to comically faceplant on the ground, and retorted, "Don't talk down to us like we're thieves."

"Don't drop me like that!" Hayner whimpered after recovering.

"Replay," Fuu stated.

Seifer laughed heartily and picked up a pair of nearby Struggle clubs. "Now you're talking!" He tossed one of the clubs at Roxas' feet, pointed the other at him in a taunting manner, and said, "I guess if you get on your knees and beg, _maybe_ I'll let it slide."

Roxas scooped up the club and readied himself for a fight as the gangs cheered for their respective members. Seifer swung first, delivering a blow strong enough to force Roxas to back off despite successfully parrying. The Disciplinary Committee leader taunted Roxas and swung again, this time successfully landing a blow. The spiky blond reeled, but quickly recovered and retaliated.

The two exchanged blows for a while longer until Roxas spotted an opening. He lunged for it and successfully knocked Seifer's club out of his hand. Though he was breathing hard, Roxas placed the tip of his club over Seifer's heart as a sign of victory. Seifer sat himself on the ground, grudgingly admitting defeat, but Fuu and Rai were quick to defend him, saying that he was merely resting in preparation for the big Struggle tournament.

"Roxas!" Pence shouted. The spiky blond turned and heard the click of a camera's shutter. Pence had taken a photograph to record the victory. In the meantime, Hayner enjoyed himself by teasing Seifer.

Pence smiled as the photo printed. He couldn't wait to see what it―

_WHOOSH!_

In a flash of silver and white, the camera disappeared from his hands. Roxas managed to catch a glance of some ethereal being slip away with the camera in hand.

"What was that?!" cried Olette.

"It stole the camera!" exclaimed Pence.

"Must be the thief!" Hayner concluded. "Which way'd he go?!"

"There!" Roxas shouted. Struggle club in hand, he bolted after the thief, not knowing that his friends suddenly froze in time behind him.

The slippery being was unlike anything Roxas had seen. It was vaguely human in appearance, but at the same time was completely alien. Its body was a silver-white color, and its limbs ended in points rather than hands and feet. It slithered through the air like a snake, twisting as if it were made of rubber.

Roxas followed the thief into Tram Common and through the woods, eventually ending up at the infamous haunted old mansion. The thief suddenly stopped fleeing and flew right in his face.

"_We have come for you, my liege."_

"Huh?!" Roxas jolted; he had heard a strange, emotionless voice in his head, and even though it sounded crazy, he could only conclude that the creature had _spoken_ to him. He had barely reached this revelation when the thief's zipper-like mouth opened and it snapped at him like a wild animal. The spiky blond instinctively swung at his foe, but his weapon passed right through the creature.

"What…what _is_ this thing?" Roxas wondered. "Hayner… Pence… Why isn't anyone coming?"

As if to mock him, a dark portal opened up and five more of the mysterious creatures emerged from it. They surrounded Roxas, slowly circling him like a pack of wolves. He contemplated on whether or not his adversaries could be ghosts when the entire group swooped in to attack. He jumped out of the way, narrowly dodging their strikes.

"There's just so many of them!" he cried. The creatures slithered close to him again, and he swung at them in retaliation, but his club had no effect at all. He grunted in frustration and muttered, "What are Hayner and the others doing?"

Roxas knew he was outmatched and realized his only choice was to run. He bolted for the woods, but the creatures were right behind him. They grabbed onto each other, forming a long chain with their bodies, and the frontmost one grabbed Roxas' legs. Unable to haul all the extra weight, the boy tripped and fell.

"Let go!" he shouted, but his adversaries ignored him. Working together, they formed their bodies into a makeshift cage around Roxas. Frightened and confused, he furiously yanked on one of his captors' arms, demanding to be released. Another dark portal formed in the air nearby, and the creatures began carrying Roxas towards it. The spiky blond desperately swung his Struggle club in an attempt to escape, but to no avail.

Just when he thought he'd be dragged through the portal, never to see Twilight Town again, a huge bolt of lightning struck the ground nearby, scaring his captors into releasing him. Roxas fell unceremoniously on his back. As he shook off the pain, a stranger clad in a black coat landed on the ground nearby. Though the stranger's face was hidden by a hood, they appeared to be female based on body shape.

"It's not safe here! Run!" she shouted.

* * *

Quaxa gritted her teeth in frustration. _I wish it didn't have to come to this. Why hasn't Roxas' Keyblade appeared yet?_

As if in response to her thoughts, the spiky blond's Struggle club became surrounded with binary code and morphed into the familiar Kingdom Key. Roxas' eyes grew to the size of saucers as he stammered in confusion. The Keyblade acted before he did, yanking him along as it lunged at a Dusk and cut it to ribbons.

Quaxa concentrated on the magic within her body, not wanting to reveal to Roxas that she also had a Keyblade. She threw both of her arms into the air, calling another lightning bolt down and frying two of the Nobodies. In the meantime, Roxas defeated the remaining Dusks, having finally found an effective weapon against them. Each defeated Dusk dropped a few photographs, which floated to the ground like leaves in autumn. When all of their foes were eliminated, Roxas ran up to Quaxa.

"Who…are you?" he asked.

Quaxa tried not to cringe as a sharp sting wracked her chest. _I was expecting this. DiZ wiped out every memory Roxas had of me. Even if I showed my face, he wouldn't recognize me. But even though I knew this would happen, it still hurts._

"You could say…I'm your guardian angel," she said at last, smiling softly. Roxas regarded her with a puzzled expression, but she ignored him and ran into the woods, casting Vanish as she did so.

* * *

**LunaClefairy: Happy New Year, everyone! Did you all enjoy your holiday? I sure did. I bought Final Fantasy IX and spent the better part of the last couple weeks completing it. It was well worth the fifteen dollars I spent, even though I watched a walkthrough. And now I squeal whenever I see Vivi―he's so dang cute! I wanna hug the little guy!**

**Anyhow, I finally got this new story up! I'm very happy with the mostly positive reception **_**Drops of Water **_**got, and I hope to meet or exceed your expectations with **_**Flood**_**! As you can see, I decided to go for a third-person point of view this time around to make the point of view changes less awkward (and there will be a lot). I also tried to put more description in, as **_**Drops of Water **_**contained a HUGE amount of dialogue.**

**Note that this chapter and a fair few of the future ones are closer to the Kingdom Hearts II manga rather than the game, so I apologize for any confusion. **

**I would very much appreciate constructive criticism on this new story. Thanks again for all your support!**


	2. Chapter 2

Roxas stood dumbfounded as the mysterious woman vanished into the woods. Moments later, the key-shaped weapon in his hand disappeared just as suddenly as it had appeared. He glanced at the photos scattered around and gathered them up, guessing that they belonged to everyone around town.

Roxas brought all of the photos back to the Usual Spot. Olette quickly found the one they were missing and slipped it back into its frame. It depicted all four members of the Usual Spot gang posing in front of the old mansion.

"Dah da-dah dah~!" the brunette sang. "I'm so glad we got it back. It's a really nice photo of our treasured times together." She gasped in surprise, and her hand flew to her throat. "Oh! I just said 'photo'!"

"We got the word back, too!" Pence exclaimed.

"But that sure was wacky, wasn't it?" asked Hayner.

"Yeah, I heard photos are all that got stolen from everyone in town, too," said Olette. "What a weird thief."

"I got it!" Pence declared. "The thief was stalking Roxas!"

"Huh?!"

"So like, anyone else notice that all of the stolen pictures are of Roxas?" Pence fanned out the stolen photos, and a quick glance revealed that his claim was true. Roxas couldn't help but feel unnerved by the revelation, and his friends weren't helping.

"Have you noticed anyone going through your trash?" asked Hayner.

"You'd better make sure to keep your curtains closed and door locked," Olette stated.

"Yeah, and you should check your phone and TV for bugs!" added Pence.

"Gimme a break!" Roxas cried in exasperation.

Fortunately, Hayner regained some semblance of seriousness. "All kidding aside…tell us about the picture thief, Roxas."

"Huh? You all saw it, didn't you? When it took the camera and ran," Roxas answered. "It wasn't human! And why didn't you guys come to help me?! I was about to get carried off down some weird hole!"

"Roxas…" Hayner interjected seriously. "I'm not scared at all."

"Huh? I'm not trying to scare anyone!" Roxas protested.

"You know…" Pence began. "When you're telling a ghost story, what you need to do is―"

_You don't care about the thief anymore…? _Roxas thought in disbelief.

The clock tower tolled four o'clock, earning the group's attention. It had gotten to be so late. Olette firmly stated that they would start on their homework tomorrow, but Hayner brushed it off. Hayner and Olette broke into a brief argument over the subject, but made up quickly. The group went their separate ways, but when Roxas made to leave, he suddenly became blinded by the sun.

"It's so bright…" he muttered. He squinted and shielded his eyes with his hands, but suddenly became inexplicably dizzy. He felt himself falling forward, and the world went black around him.

"_Where…am I?"_

Roxas jumped at the strangely familiar voice. He couldn't tell where it came from, so he asked, "Who's there?"

"_Who are you?" _the voice reverberated. Roxas tried to answer, but he felt himself begin to sink into a deep, peaceful slumber.

* * *

_**RESTORATION AT 12%.**_

DiZ and Riku monitored the virtual Twilight Town and Sora's progress through the use of a computer located in the basement of the real Twilight Town's mansion. As a result, the two of them had seen everything that had taken place in the town that day.

"Organization miscreants… They've found us," DiZ growled. "I knew allowing Quaxa into the town was a mistake."

"But…why would the Nobodies steal photographs?" Riku wondered.

"Both are nothing but data to them. The fools could never tell the difference," DiZ responded. "We are running out of time. Naminé must make haste."

One of the monitors showed a man with flaming red hair collecting photographs from the Dusks. DiZ snarled. "It's that meddling redhead. I see that we cannot rely on Quaxa, so keep an eye on Roxas."

"I will," Riku answered.

* * *

Organization XIII's Number VIII, Axel, stood on the roof of the clock tower in the virtual town. Dusks and Assassins flew around him while he frowned at a photo of Roxas.

"Geez, guys… What are you bringing me pictures for?" he moaned. He set the photo on fire and tossed the burning remnants away. "Now then… Where's the real thing hiding?"

* * *

"_Sora…"_

_Sora? Oh… Another dream about him…_

As usual when he dreamed of Sora, Roxas was bombarded with all sorts of images and voices. Everyone in the dreams seemed vaguely familiar to Roxas, but he was certain he had never met them before.

"_They will come at you out of nowhere as long as you continue to wield the Keyblade."_

_The Keyblade…?_

Roxas jolted awake and shot up in his bed. He quickly surveyed his surroundings and noticed that he somehow had ended up back home in his bed. Once he calmed down enough, he recalled his dream and realized that the weapon he wielded yesterday was the very same one used by Sora. He stared at his open right palm and flexed his fingers.

"Key…blade…" he whispered.

Roxas got himself dressed and hurried to the Usual Spot. He was already late, but he couldn't help but stop when he spotted a stick lying on the ground nearby.

_Some kid probably used it as a toy sword and then dropped it here, _he thought. _A Keyblade… Hmm… I wonder…_

He picked up the stick and swung it a few times, but nothing happened. He carelessly tossed the stick over his shoulder and grumbled, "What was _that_ about?"

The stick whirled through the air and struck a man wearing the same kind of hooded black coat as Roxas' "guardian angel". Roxas' eyes widened in shock and he stammered an apology, but the man said nothing and walked away.

_Are black coats a new fashion or something? _Roxas wondered. The clock tower suddenly bonged, causing him to remember that he was late. He bolted towards the Usual Spot and was immediately greeted in a gruff manner by Hayner. Seeing that his friends were already digging into bars of sea-salt ice cream, Roxas apologized for his tardiness. Olette brushed off the issue handed him his own bar.

"This must be what they mean by 'simple pleasures,'" Pence commented after a while.

"Hmm?"

"You know, hanging out with friends, munching on ice cream…"

"Aw, come on Pence―you're happy _anytime_ you're eating," Hayner remarked,

"Hey, I was trying to say something really good!" Pence cried. "Like, 'I hope we can always be together like this.' Or something."

"There's no way," Hayner commented, earning a cry of shock from Pence. "Circumstances change. When we grow up, of course we're not gonna be able to get together every day like this."

"Don't say stuff like that! What a drag!" Pence moaned as he licked the last few drops of ice cream from his stick. "What made you turn into such a cynic all of a sudden, Hayner?"

"No I… Ergh!"

A metaphorical light bulb lit above Hayner's head. He shot to his feet and boldly proclaimed that the gang would visit the beach. Olette quickly objected, reminding that they still had homework to do, but Hayner brushed it off.

"You think you can let the summer go by without going to the beach even once?!" he argued.

"Sheesh."

"You wanna go too―I can see it on your face!"

"No you can't!"

Roxas snickered as Olette and Hayner argued, but abruptly stopped and let out a small "Oh." At Hayner's questioning, Roxas reminded him that they were completely broke.

"I bought a Moai tissue dispenser the other day…" he said as the reason for his lack of funds. "The tissue comes out the nose. Why in the world did I buy that…?"

Hayner and Olette stared in bewilderment at Roxas for his odd purchase, but decided to instead concentrate on what to do.

"It's pretty expensive just to get there…" Olette remarked.

"Yeah," Hayner agreed as he began to count off the things they would need on his fingers. "Train fare for the beach…and the price of yakisoba we'll eat at the beach, right?"

At the mention of food, Pence's mouth watered and he listed off all the different treats people could buy at the beach. Hayner snapped at him to be quiet and then ran off, saying he would take care of everything.

* * *

Quaxa watched in quiet amusement from a rooftop as Hayner begged the Struggle coordinator for a job. Yet a twinge of sadness pervaded her thoughts, as she knew DiZ and Riku would not allow them to leave. The virtual town didn't have a beach.

_That reminds me… We never did get to go on that beach trip. But I can't remember __for the life of me_ why Axel suggested it in the first place.

The thought of the redhead made her furrow her brow in concern. _Axel… The next time we meet, we'll have to face each other as enemies. I'm sure he's the one who sent the Dusks all over town. He's probably got orders to bring us back or eliminate us altogether. Sorry Axel, but I can't let that happen. Xemnas can't have Kingdom Hearts._

"Hey guys, we've got work to do!"

Quaxa snapped out of her thoughts as Hayner's voice rang out. She saw that he was carrying a huge stack of posters.

"He said to put up these posters!" Hayner continued. He dropped the enormous stack and it made a loud thud as it hit the ground. Pence balked at the fact that they'd have to put up so many.

"The Struggle championships, huh?" asked Roxas.

"Oh yeah. It's the day after tomorrow," Olette recalled. "You can't let Seifer and his gang beat you, okay?"

"No way we'll lose! Right, Roxas?!" Hayner shouted as he put an arm around the spiky blond. "You and I have to make the finals! That way, no matter who wins, the four of us split the prize!"

"Go get 'em!" Pence encouraged.

"You sure are confident," Olette commented, winking.

"We can do it, right? You and me," said Hayner.

"You're on," Roxas challenged.

"All right, it's a promise!" Hayner shouted. He got right to work, grabbing a can of paste and an armful of posters. He slapped a bunch on a wall in such a way that they spelled out the word "WIN". Roxas sweatdropped and stated that they were supposed to spread the posters out more.

* * *

Several hours later, Olette proudly displayed her handmade munny pouch. It jingled with five thousand hard-earned munny, and the boys cheered and applauded for themselves. Hayner asked if he could hold the pouch and feel how heavy it was, but Olette gave it to Roxas and told him not to let Hayner get his hands on it. Though Hayner was upset by Olette's lack of faith, he recovered quickly, especially when Pence reminded everyone that the train was coming soon.

Roxas made to join his friends at the station, but was halted when something flew out of nowhere and smashed into his shins, causing him to trip and fall. He was still smarting from smacking into the pavement when he saw the offending object was a stick.

He lifted his head and saw the black-coated stranger from earlier in the day. The man yanked Roxas' arm, pulling him upwards.

"Can you feel Sora?" he whispered in Roxas' ear.

The boy was baffled by the question. "Huh?"

"Heeeeey!" Hayner yelled.

"Roxas, are you all right?!" Olette asked worriedly. The spiky blond looked to his side, and although his arm was still held aloft, the hooded man was gone. After mumbling some words of confusion, he decided to brush off the encounter and followed his friends into the station.

Hayner rushed towards the ticket booth and held up four fingers as he asked for four student tickets. Roxas reached into his pockets in order to get the munny pouch, but grew alarmed when he found it was missing.

"You're kidding, right?" asked Pence.

"What happened?" Olette wondered.

Roxas quickly recalled the black coated man and reached a conclusion. "_He_ took it! When I tripped―I'm gonna go look for him. He can't have gone far."

"'Him'?" Olette repeated in confusion.

"What are you talking about? There was no one there when you tripped," said Hayner.

Roxas stammered in confusion, unable to believe his ears. The departing bell for the train rang, signaling that they had run out of time. The whole group was left slightly depressed at the development. In an effort to cheer themselves up, they bought ice cream and sat on the clock tower ledge, high above the station.

"You probably just dropped it when you tripped, and someone ran off with it," Olette guessed.

"Sorry guys," Roxas apologized for the umpteenth time.

"Forget about it," Hayner said with a wave of his hand.

"Roxas… If you hadn't found new places for all those posters, we wouldn't have gotten paid anyway," Olette remarked.

"She's right. And now we can sit here and enjoy another simple pleasure," added Pence.

"In the future, we'll look back on this day and laugh," said Hayner. "We need more memories like today…tons more! We may not be able to stay together forever… But we'll always have our memories."

"Whoa, when'd you turn into a poet?" asked Pence.

"Shut up, Pence!" Hayner angrily retorted.

Roxas was only half-listening. He recalled the strange question the hooded man had asked.

"_Can you feel Sora?"_

_Sora…since I started dreaming about you, all sorts of strange things have been happening. Who __**are**__ you…?_

* * *

_**RESTORATION AT 28%.**_

Riku repeatedly tossed the stolen munny pouch into the air as DiZ continued monitoring the virtual town.

"Is it really that hard to make a beach?" he asked.

"We'd be giving the enemy another entry point," DiZ explained.

"And this?" Riku presented the munny pouch to the bandaged man.

"We could always buy some sea-salt ice cream." DiZ chuckled at his own joke before continuing in a serious tone. "Objects from that town must be kept out of the real world. You can delete that."

Riku continued tossing the bag and asked, "What is Organization XIII's status?"

"All is quiet. They're probably waiting for us to make a move. Whatever they may be doing, Naminé must hurry."

Meanwhile, a few rooms over, the memory witch Naminé gently placed her hand on the flowerlike pod that held the sleeping Sora. She muttered his name as she recalled the promise they made inside Castle Oblivion.

_I'll be leaving for a little while, Sora. Your Nobody deserves to know more about you―and his fate._

* * *

Roxas groggily awakened from another night filled with dreams about Sora. As he rubbed the dust from his eyes, he saw someone in his peripheral vision. He jolted wide awake and turned towards the person, but quickly realized there was no one there. Puzzled at all the bizarre things that kept happening, he got himself dressed and headed for the Usual Spot. Hayner, Pence, and Olette were absent, but he found a note resting on a wooden crate.

_Meet at the station. Today's the day we hit the beach―and don't sweat about the munny!_

The note was signed by Hayner, leading Roxas to wonder just what his best friend was up to. Nonetheless, he exited the Usual Spot and headed through the back alley towards Station Heights, where he ran into Pence and Olette. The two of them were carrying beach gear and happily greeted Roxas.

"Hayner says he got five thousand munny from his uncle," Olette explained. "Today we can really go to the beach."

"Seriously?!" Roxas exclaimed. "That's grea―"

Olette and Pence suddenly froze in place, greatly confusing Roxas. He asked the two of them if they were okay and waved his hand in front of their faces. They did not respond, and Pence even toppled over while remaining in the same pose, as if he was a statue.

"Hello, Roxas," a female voice suddenly interrupted. The spiky blond spun around and saw who spoke. It was a pale blonde girl about his age. She wore a sleeveless white dress and white sandals, making her appear almost ethereal. The most colorful thing about her was her eyes, which were like blue oases in a desert of white.

"Come to the old mansion," the girl continued as she walked toward the Tram Common. "If you come, I'll tell you what you want to know."

* * *

**LunaClefairy: Holy smokes, I got 20 reviews, 15 followers, and 13 favorites from just ONE chapter! Everyone must've been really excited for this story! I remember when I first published **_**Drops of Water**_**―I only got two reviews for the first four or so chapters. It goes to show that persistence and practice pay off. So don't let a lack of reviews discourage you!**


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